Shigeru Ishiba is the new Prime Minister of Japan

Shigeru Ishiba is the new Prime Minister of Japan

International Desk

 Shigeru Ishiba is the new Prime Minister of Japan

Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba is going to be the new Prime Minister of Japan. Ishiba, 67, secured the post of prime minister after defeating rival candidate and staunch nationalist leader Sanae Takaichi in a run-off within the party. This run-off vote was held on Friday.

"We must trust the people, tell the truth, be brave and responsible, and all work together to make Japan safe and secure," said an emotional Ishiba in an immediate reaction after the results of the run-off vote were released on Friday.

Incidentally, in a press conference in Tokyo on August 14, the current Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, announced that he has decided to resign as head of government and president of his own political party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Constitutionally, Kishida had another 13 months; But the popularity of Kishida and his party, the LDP, was on the wane in Japan, with corruption scandals involving some of the party's lawmakers and a spike in the cost of living for the general public. A poll in July showed that only 15.5 percent of Japanese people want to see Kishida as prime minister. Basically, he decided to retire from the post of government and party chief only after the results of that survey were published.

Kishida also said at the Tokyo press conference that the LDP will choose a new top leader by September, who will serve out the remainder of the government's term and lead the party into the upcoming elections. According to his announcement, before the end of September, the election of Japan's new prime minister is over, now only formalities remain.

Shigeru Ishiba's position in Japanese domestic politics is quite unique. On the one hand, he is popular with the general public, and on the other hand, he has several records of getting into conflict with his fellow politicians in the party on various issues. He has previously contested for the post of LDP president four times, but failed each time due to conflicts with senior party leaders. After Kishida announced his resignation, Ishiba said he would run for party chief for the last time. As such, Ishiba succeeded in the 5th attempt.

Read more: Hurricane Helen's path: Tracker information and updates on the Florida storm

Ishiba started his career by taking a job in a bank in the early eighties of the last decade. He resigned from his job and joined LDP in 1986.

The two major challenges facing Ishiba at the moment are the cost-cutting of public living and foreign policy. Foreign policy is a major challenge for him as he has repeatedly said during his tenure as defense minister that he favors an Asian version of NATO, the US-led military alliance. If he does take this initiative, there is a risk of a serious deterioration in Tokyo's relationship with Beijing. Political analysts believe that the deterioration of relations with Beijing will create many new problems for Japan in the regional politics of Asia.